Mweb has just announced a new partnership which will see their ADSL subscribers getting access to Fon, which is described as the “world’s largest WiFi network”, provided they have the correct router hardware. Fon is a global WiFi network containing 12 million users that started out in Spain but has since spread to four continents.
Mweb CEO Derek Hershaw said in a statement “We have been looking for a way to broaden our customers access to WiFi beyond their home or office network without compromising the quality of internet access that they’ve become accustomed to. The new Fon relationship will complement our existing WiFi zones and will give our customers access to cost effective, quality mobile Internet access and a growing network.”
Mweb ADSL users will require a Fon-enabled router to access the Fon network, which will initially comprise certain Mweb WiFi hotspots in South Africa. As more users join in on the Fon… er… fun, the network will expand until it reaches an expected 30,000 hotspots. Mweb expects to reach this number by the end of this year.
Hershaw said “As broadband costs decrease and more users and sites come online, MWEB will take South Africa into an unlimited mobile Internet future. We want to fundamentally change what people expect from mobile connectivity. In MWEB’s vision of the future, our users will never have to adjust how they consume the Internet just because they aren’t at home or in the office.”
According to Mweb “…existing and new MWEB ADSL customers will be offered a free Fon upgrade, including a Fon – enabled WiFi router and WiFi range extender as of Thursday, January 16, 201”